Something Was Restored This Weekend. #ACFW2017

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It is after midnight in a very dark hotel room. The only light is from electronics recharging and the screen of my laptop. My wife is sound asleep across the room, and I’m sitting here in a dress shirt and shorts writing. My suit (yes, I actually own one) is hanging on the back of the chair, and my cowboy boots are kicked into the space between my bed and the balcony. It’s a pretty darned good night in my life.

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I’m in Dallas, scene of my Genesis victory two years ago. That same book, Assault on Saint Agnes, didn’t even make it to the final round of the competition for published works this year. While I was a little disappointed, it wasn’t fatal. I was actually okay with that, as I was competing against some industry heavyweights now, and you don’t win all of them. I went to the conference anyway, mainly because I’d skipped it the previous year.

Why did I skip it? The list was long, but 2017 came along and I had new goals and skills to flaunt. So I applied to teach at this year’s American Christian Fiction Writers conference. I submitted 6 different lesson plans, and they hired me to teach two of them (I have a copy of the check if you don’t believe me.)

I studied my material. I read a lot of websites, blogs, and PDF documents on police work and crime scene investigation. I was amazed at how little all of that had changed in the 36 years since I was a sworn officer. I was secretly pleased that maybe for an old man I had something special to contribute. I even did ride-along nights with the excellent people of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bloomington Police Department. They treated me very well, and gave me excellent access to verify my studies – and it was like magic: I was back in a patrol car and loving it. (Don’t worry, Dearheart, I won’t do it again for at least 20 years.)

My wife and I got to Dallas a day early, spent some quality time shopping. Yes, I even bought something for me. Nice meals, Netflix at night, and some time to be married.

The next three days were consumed with attending classes and teaching classes. I have to say that my two hours in the teacher role were a delight. I heard good things from my students, and they asked questions that told me I had the subjects in a good place. Mind you, some of these people write murder mysteries that you would recognize, and they loved my classes on Basic Police Patrol and Crime Scene Protection, as well as another class designed to teach authors about the finer points of weaponry for their books. I had finally given back after all the hours I spent in other people’s classrooms.

Saturday night was the awards banquet. It was actually great fun to watch the new authors compete for the same award I won two years ago. Smiling faces now launched on their way to publication. It’s still a long road for most, but they’re serious about their craft (being here for a very expensive conference that lasts 3 days is not for the people just dabbling!) and moving forward at a rapid pace.

Then it was time for the awards for the people I compete with all year for sales. To my delight, I was pleased for all the winners with no bitterness. After attending these events for over five years, I knew these authors. I had read some of their books, and I was aware of what they do for new authors. More than a few of them had mentored me. Best of all, I usually knew two of the three finalists, sometimes all three. All worthy of their awards. It made me smile to see good people who write to promote the Kingdom of God do well.

We wrapped it up in the hotel bar. No, I did not crawl out of the bar. (I had to clarify that for my sailor friends.) But I did get to talk to old friends, smile at people who won nice awards, and plan for the next year.

Changes are coming folks. Good ones. Ones that will be revealed soon.

In the meantime, be blessed. Revel in the victories of your friends. It feels good.

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Assault on Saint Agnes is available here. Just click this link!

When you finish reading any book (especially mine) please review it at www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, and www.goodreads.com. Your review increases the chances of someone looking for a new book greatly. Authors appreciate your review, even if it is just “I thought this was a good read and will give it to my dog to chew. I especially liked the ending, because it made me feel better when he killed all of the main characters. (no spoilers, please)” Those few words (more than 20, fewer than 1,000 is ideal), and a 1-5 rating, make or break how the search engines find us. Thanks in advance.

London 9/15/2017 – Probably Not Missionary Baptists Putting Bombs On The Tube

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Remember my post from 9/12? Forgot already, eh?

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For those of you who are probably wondering how I know that it’s not Baptists, it’s because the Gospel of Jesus Christ does not endorse this kind of madness. The Quran, on the other hand, does exactly so in its dark pages.

You might be thinking – “It didn’t amount to much. Nobody was killed.” Yeah. Let’s change things a tiny bit – it goes off while the train enters an underground section of the route. It doesn’t fizzle, but ignites properly. Now it’s dozens, perhaps hundreds, dead.

That is the enemy: they will kill you for being you on the way to work. Children, old men, business women – doesn’t matter. It’s all in the name of Jihad.

So before you dismiss this one as “another lone-wolf attack” think about where you’ve been lately where a 5-gallon pail would be unremarkable. Now picture it exploding in flames.

I’m betting that your tolerance of Islam just went down about 90% or more.

It’s real, people. Be on guard.

Oh, yeah.. it has not been identified as an Islamic terrorist attack as of 0749 Central Daylight Savings Time. But it will be soon. If it is not, visit this page next week for my apology and the picture of me writing a check out to an Islamic Charity.

Bwhahahahaha. Not bloody likely. It’s not bigoted if its factual, and this observation is based on over three decades of observing this death-cult.

But just so all of you snowflakes are feeling balanced: Daggone Baptists.

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Assault on Saint Agnes is available here. Just click this link!

When you finish reading any book (especially mine) please review it at www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, and www.goodreads.com. Your review increases the chances of someone looking for a new book greatly. Authors appreciate your review, even if it is just “I thought this was a good read and will give it to my dog to chew. I especially liked the ending, because it made me feel better when he killed all of the main characters. (no spoilers, please)” Those few words (more than 20, fewer than 1,000 is ideal), and a 1-5 rating, make or break how the search engines find us. Thanks in advance.

911 Thoughts.

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This is my post from yesterday, 9/11, on Facebook. I was surprised when one of my readers, a fine person whom I know personally, asked “…But how do we balance that with compassion for the good folks here.. It gets dicey.. ”

My answer is below my post. And here it is:

Not a plug for my work, but on this anniversary it’d be remiss of me if I didn’t mention that Islam’s avowed goal is to destroy, subjugate, and covert each and every one of us to their barbaric point of view. If you haven’t learned it yet, “Pure Islam” hews to the writings in the Quran, and they demand total world domination for their faith. It is not some “bastardization” of a great faith, it is the logical conclusion for its adherents.
Simply stated, “Islam” is the command form of the Arabic word for submit. Get a linguist to explain it to you if you have any question about what that means. But it’s an order. Viewed as coming from Allah. And if you are given that command, you have three choices:
Submit and convert
Live as a second class person with a gigantic tax levied upon you.
Die.
Your choice. That’s what Islam means in practical terms.
Thankfully, most Muslims are like most Christians: lukewarm. But the true believers are out there and wish us to be no more.
Today I remember all those that died on September 11, 2001 and those who have given their lives in service to this country since.

Here’s my answer to my reader:

There can be no compassion for those that try to kill us. We can pray for their conversion, but we must be aware of what Islam is, and how the adherents practice it.

Even the “non-hardcore” members of the religion will protect and fund their jihadist brothers rather than turn them in to the authorities. If Christians did the equivalent, they’d be providing bomb-making materials for blowing up abortion clinics – and that’s not happening. In Islam, it is.

Addendum:

Some, an extremely small number, of lunatics have bombed abortion clinics and shot abortionists. They are reviled by Christians, and turned in as fast as they are found. In Islam, this is not the case.

Are You An Angel Watching Over Someone?

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We wander through this life hoping that God is looking down on us with favor. Sometimes it’s pretty clear that He’s right there with supernatural intercession. Amy Grant did a great job of describing that to us with her song Angels Watching Over Me.

But what about the day-to-day work that needs doing? The stuff that falls into the little cracks where celestial attention is diverted still needs to be done. That, My friend, is where you come into the picture.

Please follow me on Twitter, and “Like” the Facebook author page. Don’t forget to subscribe (the box is on the right side of the page) to be eligible for free e-books and other benefits! Oh yeah – grab a copy of Assault on Saint Agnes if you’re of a mind.

Sometimes it will be something as simple as grabbing the keys someone dropped on the way into the grocery store and running them up to the person. Other times it will be listening, and praying, as someone you may not even know pours out their worldly troubles and seeks a solution.

Other times, it will be a bit more complex. I’ve given an example or two in the past, but this weeks is a cautionary one. I pulled into a parking lot at a major shopping complex last Friday and parked my car towards the end of the row. I looked to my left so I wouldn’t “door ding” the car next to me and saw a sleeping 3-5 year old in a car seat in the back seat. Nobody else in the car.

It wasn’t hot out, as a matter of fact it was perfectly nice weather to sit in a car and listen to the radio. But all I could think of was that this was baiting the devil with a vulnerable child. There was no sightline from the store to the car, and certainly nobody would notice the child in the back being harmed at that distance.

Not wanting to push the panic button, and understanding that maybe mom-or dad- ran in to grab milk after a busy day, I didn’t call the police. I did take a picture of the license plate, and then I watched. I grabbed a bench outside the store and watched that car for the next 15-20 minutes. Finally mom came out and drove away.

Friday I was the angel watching over. Mom didn’t know it, but once the timer hit 20 minutes I was calling the police. You only get so much slack on this sort of thing. But what if I hadn’t watched over that child? Would they have been harmed? We’ll never know. But I do know that God counts on us to watch over others. Especially the helpless.

Be that angel this week. Take the time to watch over someone that needs it today.

See you soon.

Oh, and if you like this page, tell your friends about it. Also, hit the Facebook like button and add it to your list. I’d appreciate it.

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Assault on Saint Agnes is available here. Just click this link!

When you finish reading any book (especially mine) please review it at www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, and www.goodreads.com. Your review increases the chances of someone looking for a new book greatly. Authors appreciate your review, even if it is just “I thought this was a good read and will give it to my dog to chew. I especially liked the ending, because it made me feel better when he killed all of the main characters. (no spoilers, please)” Those few words (more than 20, fewer than 1,000 is ideal), and a 1-5 rating, make or break how the search engines find us. Thanks in advance.

Some Things I’d Like To See

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The news has been full of cries for diversity and inclusiveness lately. I think about these things as I roam about the planet, and have come to realize there are things you never see but ought to if things were balanced. I have, for your convenience compiled a brief list of them below.

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I would like to see a nail salon staffed primarily by the Irish. Perhaps “Paddy’s Pedicures” would be a good name.

An old style Vietnamese pub with an assortment of traditional Vietnamese pub food and beer.

A really high-class German tea room. Perhaps with clotted cream cakes like you’d get in Bremerhaven.

Some kind of Spanish lefse bar.

A Mexican sushi establishment where you can only order in Spanish.

A Norwegian fried chicken place. Hopefully with some serious corn bread – Oslo style.

A Swedish reggae dance hall. Nothing says reggae to me like the land and music of ABBA. Here’s what I mean:

I think you get the point I’m trying to make: not everything must revolve around the axis of diversity. Somethings are just better the way we’ve found them in life already. (The biggest exception is the Hmong fried chicken at the Hmongtown center in Saint Paul – probably the top five in my fried chicken experience.)

Let’s celebrate what others do exceptionally well, and not try to make them as mediocre as possible. It’s not stereotyping if your culture provides you with some basis for a cuisine, literature, or music based on centuries of experience. It’s not racist, not genetic, it’s a practiced set of knowledge passed between generations. Not a thing wrong with recognizing that bit of beauty that God has gifted us with along the way.

And please, for the love of all that is foodie, nobody open an English steak house. I couldn’t bear the thought.

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Assault on Saint Agnes is available here. Just click this link!

When you finish reading any book (especially mine) please review it at www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, and www.goodreads.com. Your review increases the chances of someone looking for a new book greatly. Authors appreciate your review, even if it is just “I thought this was a good read and will give it to my dog to chew. I especially liked the ending, because it made me feel better when he killed all of the main characters. (no spoilers, please)” Those few words (more than 20, fewer than 1,000 is ideal), and a 1-5 rating, make or break how the search engines find us. Thanks in advance.